Jackson city officials set tax rates, OK tiny house variance

Jackson's aldermanic council members, following a required public hearing, have set 2023 property tax rates identical to the prior year's assessment.

• General Revenue: 59.06 cents (to raise $1,726,355);
• Parks & Recreation fund: 12.39 cents (to raise $362,161);
• Cemetery maintenance: 7.63 cents (to raise $223,015);
• Band fund: 7.63 cents (to raise $223,015).

In all cases, the levy is based on $100 assessed property valuation.

Church extension OK'd

Aldermen also granted an extension to Immaculate Conception Parish, 208 Hope St,. to commence work on building a new church building.

Deacon Al Stoverink, coordinator of the project, told city lawmakers on Aug. 7, the additional time to start the work was necessitated by delays attributed to inflation and COVID-19.

In a July letter, church officials referenced a Dec. 17, 2018, agreement with the city requiring construction to start within five years. Aldermen voted to accept the church's request to activate a portion of the pact allowing the city to extend the start date by two years -- to Nov. 30, 2025.

Tiny houses

Aldermen also greenlighted a variance related to the so-called "tiny house" ordinance narrowly OK'd earlier this month. City lawmakers, with Mayor Dwain Hahs casting the decisive vote to break a 4-4 tie on Aug. 7, amended Chapter 65 of Jackson's Code of Ordinances, giving permission for such extra-small houses, typically defined as 600-square-feet or smaller, to be constructed in the county seat municipality.

"What the variance means is any tiny houses pre-existing, meaning built before Aug. 8 of this year, may be rebuilt if destroyed. It's a grandfather clause, in other words," city administrator Jim Roach told the Southeast Missourian.

Bridge

During the aldermanic study session, Roach said work to replace Sunset Bridge may commence before the Deerwood Drive roundabout project. Deerwood has been a higher priority for the council.

"We may leapfrog Sunset over Deerwood and do it during the upcoming construction work on Highway 61 because the bridge replacement may be less impactful for motorists. We're still deciding this, nothing firm yet, but we may accelerate Sunset and get it done during the 61 project," said Roach.

A Missouri Department of Transportation grant, a regional bridge program award, will be used to pay for approximately 88% of the estimated $543,000 replacement cost, with the city responsible for funding the remainder.

Forty-two-feet-long Sunset Bridge was built in 1964, making it one of the city's oldest spans.

MoDOT has deemed the bridge "deficient yet safe", for motorists.